Over the years, I’ve visited several different dentists and had both good and bad patient experiences. There’s one part of the patient experience that has especially affected me - the payment experience.

Many patients don’t understand how insurance works - they simply rely on your office to collect the correct amount. So when the front desk informed me of the amount I owed during checkout, I readily paid it by credit card.

But, weeks later, I received a surprise phone call requesting payment of a balance due, which was a nominal amount. This phone call (and related voicemail) came as a complete surprise, and worse yet, seemed like a nuisance. The receptionist requested that I call the office during working hours to take care of the remaining balance. As a result of this surprise bill, my view of the practice went down the drain, even though my experience with the dentist was phenomenal!